Wire forming machines



June 21, 1966 Filed Dec. 11, 1959 A. J. FISHER, JR, ETAL WIRE FORMINGMACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

W flaw/z ATTORNEYS June 21, 1966 A. J. FISHER, JR., ETAL 3,256,915

WIRE FORMING MACHINES Filed Dec. 11, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 |o4 [6| 22 FIG. l4

INVENTORS FIG. 2 FIG. l3 ANDREW JAY FISHER JR.

RAYMOND D. STROUT ATTORNEYS ,June 21, 1966 A. J. FISHER, JR., ETAL3,256,915

WIRE FORMING MACHINES I INVENTORS 15 g a: so

ANDREW JAY FISHER JR.

76 RAYMOND D. STROUT BY FIG. 3 M /W% ATTORNEYS J1me 1966 A. J. FISHER,JR, ETAL 3,256,915

WIRE FORMING MACHINES Filed Dec. 11, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 109, no I I08I2OI29 I I I INVENTORS ANDREW JAY FISHER JR. RAYMOND D. STROUT :BY Ifzf'm ATTORNEYS a FIG. 6

June 21, 1966 Filed Dec. 11, 1959 FIG. 8

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 d m N .n M F N INVENTORS ANDREW JAY FISHER JR.

United States Patent 3,256,915 WIRE FORMING MACHINES Andrew Jay Fisher,Jr., and Raymond D. Strout, Saginaw, Mich, assignors to Saginaw WireProducts, Inc., Saginaw, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Dec. 11,1959, Ser. No. 858,942

Claims. (Cl. 140-71) This invention relates to wire forming machines andparticularly to certain novel and useful improvements in wire bendingmachines of a type which form the supporting end sections of seat andback springs having sinuous portions from which the end support sectionsare formed.

Wire springs of the type to which we refer are conventionally used invehicle and furniture seat and back assemblies wherein the deck or loadapplication sections of the springs are supported at at least one end byangularly divergent end sections connected by a torsion bar section ortorsion bar sections. It is also desirable to form offset bends in theend support sections of present springs and accordingly the machine isdesirable provided with means for forming these offset bends inconjunction with the forming of the angularly divergent sections.

Several machines of this 'type have been proposed, which have beenlimited generally to the bending of wires which are substantiallycontinuously corrugated and have uniform loops formed by a pair ofspaced, parallel, straight wire portions. They have also been limited bythe prior concept that the wire twisting means should be transverselyfixed in position and this type of machine has also required theincorporation of Wire ejection means of some complexity.

Further, machines of prior design have not been capable in practice ofproviding angularly divergent fishmouth end support sections withtorsion bars which are not tilted or drooped with respect to the spacerbar sections.

One of the prime objects of the present invention is to provide a wireforming machine capable of compensating for the drooped torsion barcondition which ordinarily results when the torsion bar is twisted aboutits axis to form a fishmouth section and permits the forma tion offishmouth sections in which the torsion bars are horizontal and in aplane parallel with torsion bars in the deck section of the wire orsimply with the deck section of the wire in a case in which the decksection is linear and has no torsion bar portions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wire bending machineof the type described in which wire bending slides for holding the wireare provided on opposite sides of the wire in predetermined relationthereto,

and certain wire holding slides have rotatable portions which form thefishmouth portions and in certain instances effect offset bends in thefishmouth portions.

Another object of the invention is to design a machine of the characterdescribed in which the reciprocation and rotation of the wire holdingslides is cam controlled and is effected, in predetermined sequence, byrelatively simple and reliable parts which can be easily adjusted tosuit a particular forming operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wire bending machineas described which is of universal character in the sense that it canform end support sections of divergent leg design on wires having endportions which are not regularly sinuous in configuration.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an extremely flexibleproduction machine which can be readily set up or changed over, with aminimum of set-up time, to bend a variety of wires, and which iseconomical to build and operate in a wire production shop.

Briefly, the invention includes transversely reciprocating slidesarranged on opposite sides of a wire to be formed, rotatable slide diesfor twisting torsion bar portions of the wire, and means for operatingthe slides and rotatable dies in predetermined sequence. In the machinedepicted, some rotatable die sections at the torsion bars are initiallyaligned with the wire but are rotated about an axis parallel to and outof alignment with the torsion bars of the wire.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed outspecifically or will become apparent from the following description whenit is considered in conjunction with the appended claims and theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a wire bending machine constructed inaccordance with the invention, with the wire to be formed shown held inposition by the forwardly actuated holding and twisting slides inreadiness for performance of the twisting operations;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view illustrating the cam mechanismcontrolling the operation of the wire holding dies and the driveelements therefor;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged, transverse, sectional view taken on the line3-3 of FIGURE 1, and depicting mo tion transmission elements for thewire holding dies which are both reciprocated and rotated, in somedetail;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, top plan view thereof;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIGURE3;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged, transverse, sectional view taken on the line6-6 of FIGURE 1 and showing a slide which is reciproca-ted but notrotated;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view thereof;

FIGURE 8 is aview showing a typical formed wire which can be supplied tothe machine;

FIGURE 9 is an edge elevation of the wire shown in FIGURE 8, thediagrammatic lines illustrating the bending operations which aresequentially performed on the wire by the machine;

FIGURE 10 is a top plan view of a wire spring which has been formed \bythe machine;

FIGURE 11 is an edge elevational view thereof;

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged, fragmentary, top plan view of wire holding dieunits shown at the right end of the machine in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary, end elevational view thereof;

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary, sectional, elevational view taken on theline 1'414 of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 15 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side view of tiltable die memberswhich are adapted to perform a twisting operation at a torsion barpreformed in the wire;

FIGURE 16 is a similar view illustrating the tilted position of the samedie members after the twisting operation has been performed and prior tothe time they are removed from the wire; and

FIGURE 17 is a schematic view illustrating an electrical circuitwhichmay be employed to operate a retractable wire supporting element.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings for a detaileddescription of the various elements of the machine, a letter Fgeneral-1y indicates the frame of the machine, which includ'es cornerpost members 10 (FIGURE 2) connected by end wall rails 11 and side edgebeams 12. 'End plate members 113 fixed on the beams 11 are provided tosupport pairs of rails "14 and 15 which are fixed to the end members 13and aid in stabilizing the frame.

In order that the cross rails 12, 14, and- 15 can be employed to supportwire handling units in various longitudinal positions dependent on theshape of the preformed Patented June 21, 1966 wire W to be furtherformed, inversely disposed T slots 16 are provided therein. As shownparticularly in PEG- URES 3, 4, 6, and 7, inversely disposed, T-shapednuts 17 received in the groove 16 are provided for bolt members 18 whichsecure various elements, to be presently described, in particularlongitudinal positions. The machine bolts 18 may be provided withslotted heads so that they can be readily turned with a screwdriver orthe like, and the heads of the nuts 17 are square in shape and cannotturn in the grooves 16, although, as shown, there is sufficientclearance so that they can move freely longitudinally in the grooves 16except, of course, when they are drawn up into clamping relation. Therails 14 and support slide housing assemblies or means which arearranged on opposite sides of the wire to be twisted, in predetermined,longitudinal position, and will presently be described.

A typical wire W of the type to be formed, which will preferably be feddown automatically from an overhead hopper prior to the commencement ofeach forming operation, comprises (FIGURE-S 1 and 8 11) a substantiallylinear deck section 20 having rear deck torsion bars 21 and 22 which,with a spacer bar portion 23, form a single loop in the rear portion ofthe deck section 20. At the front end of the wire are torsion bars 24,25, and 26 and diagonally disposed sections 27 and 28 connecting thetorsion bars 24, 25, and 25, '26, as shown.

The slide supporting housing assemblies are generally designated 29 onone side of the wire W in FIGURE 1 and 30-32, and 34 on the oppositeside of the Wire W. In addition, va block '35 having an elongated wiresupport bar 3 6 is secured in longitudinal position on one of the rails15 opposite the slide housing assembly 30 and a -sup port plate 37mounting a fluid pressure operated cylinder 38 with a retractable pistonrod 319 is supported on the rails 14 and 15 on one side of the machine.Connected to rod 39 is a retractable wire supporting plate 4! havingmagnets 41 thereon which Will be disposed under the wire when it dropsdown [from above. Both the block and plate 37 are clamped inlongitudinal position 'by bolt members 18 or the like extending downinto grooves 16 in the particular members 14 and 15.

The slide housing assemblies 25, '26, 29, 30, and '34- are constructeddifferently than the slide housings 27, 28, 31, and 3 2, and attentionis now directed to FIGURES 3-5 for a disclosure of the first mentionedgroup of slide housing assemblies and the reciprocable and rotatableslides which they carry. Since each of the assemblies bers 74a.

25, 26, 29, 30, and 34 is preferably identical in design, a 7

description of the housing 29 and its associated rotatable slide 42 willsufiice for all. The slide 42 comprises a cylindrical shaft which passesthrough a bore 43 in the housing 42a and is rotatable in bushings 44provided therein as shown in FIGURE 3. Provided on shaft 42 are elongatepinion teeth 45 which mesh with the teeth 46a of a rack 46 carried in avertically disposed groove 47 provided adjacent to and communicatingwith the horizontally extending bore 43. The rack 46 is verticallygrooved as at 48 to receive a second rack bar 49 in mesh with a motionmultiplying pinion 5t rotatably carried by a tappet 51. Provided in thelower end of housing 42a is a slide groove or guideway 52 receiving thetappet 51 and housing 42a is also horizontally recessed as at 53 toreceive a third rack bar 54 in vertically fixed position therein whichmeshes with the pinion 50. A "cover plate 55, secured by screws 56, isprovided for the rack'46, rack bar 49, tappet 51, and gear segment 54.

Mounted on the rack bar 46 at the upper end thereof is an angular plate57 having an opening 58 (FIGURE 5) through which the threaded upper end59 of bar 46 extends, the end 5-9 having a threaded opening 60 receivingthe stud 61 which is employed to position the rack bar 49. The plate 57(see FIGURE 5) is secured by a nut 62 on the threaded upper end 59 ofrack member 46 and a nut 63 fixes the position of stud 61. Plate 57 alsocarries a bolt 64, secured by a nut 65, which functions as a stop incooperation with a stop plate 65a provided on the housing 42a. Thus,downward movement of the rack 46 is arrested by the plate 57. Mounted ona retainer rod 66 threaded as at 67 in plate 57 and secured by nut 63 isa return spring 69. Rod 66 depends through a vertical bore 70 providedin the housing 42a on the opposite side of the pinion 45 from the rackbar 46 and the lower end of bore 70* is countersunk as at 71 to providean inner seat for the spring 69 which is restrained at its opposite endby a head portion 72 on the rod 66.

As will be seen from an inspection of FIGURES 1, 2, and 3, twin camshafts 73 and 73a extend longitudinally of the frame F and are supportedby bearings 74 provided in intermediate end connecting plate or wallmem- In the case of the slide housing assemblies 25, 26, 29, 30, and 34,which provide both reciprocable and rotatable die members, a pair ofadjacent cams 75 and 76 are keyed as at 77 to the cam shafts 73 or 73a,as the case may be, under each housing 42a. Rotatably mounted on tappet5 1 is a follower roller 78 on a pin '79 and when tappet 51 is. movedupwardly by a rise in the cam 75, pinion 50 is revolved clockwisely inFIG- URE 3, moving rackbar 49 and, accordingly, rack bar 46 upwardly.Slide rod 42 will be revolved in a counterclockwise direction responsiveto upward movement of rack 46 when slide 42 is viewed from the front orwork holding end thereof, which is at the left in FIGURE 3. Becausepinion 50 moves upwardly with tappet 51 at the same time it is revolvedby stationary rack 54, the rise of cam 75 is multiplied and the desireddegree of revolution of shaft 42 can be achieved.

Cam 76 controls the forward and rearward travel of slide 42 which has awork holding and supporting means, generally designated 5, fixed thereonin the case of slide housing assembly 29, as by a key 78, and, as shownparticularly in FIGURES 4 and 5, a lever 79 rotatably carries a camfollower roller 80 on a pin 81. A clevis member 82 secured in the T slot16 in rail 1-2 pivotally supports the lever 79 on pin 83 and at itsupper end, lever 79 mounts a clevis coupling member 84 which receivesthe block 86 on the rear end of slide 42. Trunnions 87 on the block '86are received in slots 88 provided in the side walls of clevis member 84as shown. Plainly in FIGURE 3 when a rise in cam 76 pivots the upper endof lever 79 me counterclockwise direction about pin 83, the slide 42 ismoved forwardly.

Provided on the rear end of slide rod 42 is a return spring 89 hearingon a washer 90 which freely passes the shaft 42 and spring 89 is, ofcourse, compressed when the slide 42 is moved forwardly; Also, securedto block 82 is an arm 92 having a stop member 93 adapted to engage witha stop plate 94 fixed to rail 12 (FIGURE 3) and secured by nut 94. Theplate 92 has an enlarged opening 95 for freely passing a rod member 96,coupled or linked to the lever 79 as at 97. Rod 96 is threaded at itsouter end as at 96a to receive nut members 98 which retain a secondreturn spring 99 which bears also against plate 92.

The wire holding or engaging die S provided on the front end of slideshaft 42 is recessed as at 100 to receive the front end of shaft 42 and,as has been noted, the vertical key 78 secures the member S in positionat its front end. The member S is provided with a wire receiving slot101 which in this instance is horizontally aligned with the axis ofshaft 42. The length and position of the slot 101 vertically andhorizontally relative to the axis of a slide shaft 42 'will vary withhousing assemblies 25, 26, 29, 30, and 34. However, as has I been noted,the elements described and disclosed in FIG- URES 35 for obtainingrotary and reciprocatory movement of the holding unit S will be the sameand for purposes of illustration the parts of these like housingassemblies will be numbered identically. Only die units S will bedifferently identified and, as indicated in FIGURE 1, the wire holdingdies of the housing assemblies 25, 26,

I in these views, the housing 32a is clamped in longitudinal position onrails 14 and 15 by means of clamp screws 18 in the manner describedpreviously and is provided with a transversely extending groove orrecess 107 in which a slide 108 is reciprocably received. At its rearend, slide 108 is bored as at 109 (FIGURE 7) to receive a pin 110 whichextends beyond the slide on both sides and is received within slottedopenings 111 provided in a clevis 112 fixed on an actuating lever 113.The lever 113, through a rotatable follower roller 114 pinned to itslower end as at 115, transmits motion from a cam 116 keyed to camshaft73 as at 117. Clevis block 118 clamped in the groove 16 in edge rail 12by a clamping screw 18 is provided with a pin 119 which pivotally mountsthe lever 113 for swinging movements in a vertical plane.

As in the case of lever 79, the pivot pin is disposed relative to thelever to elfect a mechanical advantage. The lever return system forlever 113 is exactly the same as the return spring system for lever 79,as shown in FIGURE 3, and the like parts accordingly. will not bedescribed again but are given like numbers in the drawings.

At its front end, slide 108 has fixed thereto a wire hold.- ing unit Sby means of a screw 120 and it will be seen that the unit S has adependent portion 121 adapted to engage a stop screw 122 which isdisposed Within a recessed portion 123 of the housing 32a to positivelylimit its forward movement. The wire holding die uni-ts generallydesignated S for slide housing assemblies 28, 31, and 32 are generallyidentified by the numerals 124, 125, and 126, respectively, and will nowbe described in detail. Each such unit S includes a generally clevisshaped jaw member 127 having a pin member 128 connecting its legportions which embrace the front end of a block member 129. The jawmember 127 is provided with a wire receiving slot 130 horizontallyaligned with the axis of reciprocation a of slide bar 108 and it will beseen that pin 128 is also normally located on this axis. The pin 128 is,however, received in a vertically slotted portion 131 of the block 129and is positioned in the slotted portion 131 by a set screw 132 so thatthe position of jaw 127 could be vertically varied. When variance isdesired, a set screw 132a can be adjusted at the same time. However,where. the members 36 and 41 receiving the wire initially are at aparticular level, slot 130 will be aranged at the same level normally sothat when slide 108 is moved forwardly it will receive the wire W withinthe slot 130.

The portion of block 129 which is cut away to receive the arms of theU-shaped jaw 127 is curved as at 133 so 7 that plainly jaw 127 can betilted upwardly slightly about pin 128. Each of the die assemblies 124,125, and 126 are of this construction and include vertically pivotaljaws 127 having slots 130 centered in horizontal alignment with theupper surfaces of the initial wire support members 36 and 41. Thepurpose of providing tiltable jaw members 127 will be presentlyexplained.

Referring now to the slide housing assembly 27 and FIGURE 1, it is to beunderstood that the assembly is identical with that shown in FIGURES 6and 7 and just described, except that the front end of slide 108 issimply provided with a work supporting magnet portion 134 and has nounit S. A cover plate 135 is provided for the slide housing assembly 27,as well as for the slide housing assemblies 28, 31, and 32, and issecured by bolts 136 or the like, as shown in FIGURES 6 and 7.

FIGURES 15 and 16 particularly illustrate, in addi- 6 tion to units ofthe type of unit 125, units S of the type generally designated 102, 103,and 106, and it will be observed that these units are constructed in thesame manner as is the unit 129 shown in FIGURES 6 and 7 except that thewire holding slot is offset a distance x axially relative to the axis ofrotation of the slide 42 which is indicated. by the line b in FIGURE 15(unit 102). The axes of the shafts 42 of the die units 103 and 106 aresimilarly vertically olfset from the axes of the other shafts 42 of thedie assemblies 124, 125, and 126.

The reason for the offsetting of the die units S which revolve on shafts42 will now be explained. If the wire holding die units 102, 103, and106 which accomplish twisting of the torsion bars 22, 24, and 25 arepositioned so that the axis of rotation b of the rotary slide shaft 42is in alignment with the slots 130, the torsion bars 22, 24, and 25 arehorizontally tilted as a result of the twisting operation, rather thantruly horizontal as they are shown in FIGURE 11. When a horizontallydisposed torsion bar is held at one end and twisted or rotated aboutitself at its opposite end as in the present machine, the torsion barwill be bent either upwardly or downwardly as a beam, as well as twistedtorsionally. The result is a drooping of the torsion bars of the endsection, as this effect is known in the trade. By ofiisetting the wireholding slot 130 a predetermined distance x from the axis of rotation 12in the vertical direction, the rotation proceeds about an axis alignedwith the torsion bar in a vertical plane but offset from it horizontallyin a manner to compensate for this bending of the torsion bar as a beamso that the torsion bars are not horizontally tilted in the finishedproduct. The offset must be gauged, of course, for the normal return ofthe resilient wire. In FIGURE 16, the jaw assemblies 102 and 125 areshown in a position in which the shaft 42 of the assembly 102 has beenrevolved. The jaw members 127 of both die units 125 and 102 are free totilt in the manner shown.

In some instances the pins 128 of die units 124426 and 102, 103, and'106 will be replaced by screws which fix the jaws 127 in position andprevent their tilting. The tilting of the torsion bars will still beavoided although slight bends are placed in the ends of the torsion barsbecause the jaws 127 cannot tilt. In many instances wires having theseslight bends are acceptable.

FIGURES 12-14 indicate the manner in which a rotary slide shaft 42, asshown in FIGURES 36, can' be employed to produce angular bends in thewire without twisting a torsion bar about its axis. The die head 104shown has been described in detail in FIGURE 3. While its slide shaft 42is both reciprocable and rotatable about its axis, its slot 101 isvertically centered with respect to the axis of rotation of shaft 42because die head 104 is not twisting at a torsion bar. The die head 105also, as will be later explained, has its slot 101 in verticallycentered alignment with the axis of its shaft 42 in the manner of diehead 104.

Mounted on the fixed portion 129 of die head 106 is a bracket 137(FIGURE 13) having a longitudinally offset portion 138 with a verticallydisposed groove 139a therein. A vertically adjustable die 139 having aslot 140 therein so that it may be secured in vertically adjustedposition by a screw 141 which threads into the bracket 137 mounts in thegroove 139a. A set screw 143 threaded into a top wall 144 above groove139a braces the member 139 which functions as a bending die in a mannerwhich will now be described. When the shaft 42 of slide housing assembly29 is revolved to rotate head 104 through part of a revolution d, asindicated in FIGURES 9 and 14, the extending end of the wire is bent upto form a portion 23a and when portion 23a contacts die 139 a portion23b is bent from portion 23a. Thus die 139 cooperates with a rotatingdie to form a bend in the wire, since die plate 139 is fixed on the diehead 106 of adjacent slide housing assembly 134.

The cam shafts 73 and 73a on which the various cams 75, 76, and 116 aremounted for controlling the operation t of the machine may be driven inany suitable manner. As shown particularly in FIGURES 1 and 2, aplatform supported on the frame F may be provided to mount a motor 146having an armature shaft 146a mounting a drive pulley 147 which, throughthe medium of drive belts 148, is connected to a conventional speedreducer 149, the belts 148 being trained around a pulley 150 keyed onthe input shaft 151 of the reducer 149. The output shaft 152 of thereducer 149 is shown as provided with a sprocket 153 connected by adrive chain 154 with a sprocket 155 keyed on the extending end of shaft73a. Gear 156 keyed on the shaft 73a drives a gear 157 keyed on shaft 73through the medium of intermediate gears 153 and 159. The gears 158 and159 are mounted on stub shafts 160 and 161 which are journaled bybearings 162 fixed on the end member 74a.

In the operation of the device, the wire W is dropped from an overheadhopper, preferably, to guides which lead down to the wire support member36 and magnet support members 41 and 134 which are in forward position.The wire will have been previously formed in a bending machine to theshape in which it is shown in FIGURE 8 in which all of its sections liein a common plane. The die head members 1132, 103, 1194, 105, and 1%,and 124, 125, and 126, will be in retracted position out of the path ofdescent of the wire W. Firstly, all of the die heads 1492, ms, 124, 104,105, 125, 126, and 105 are moved forwardly so that the Wire engagesWithin their slots 1151 or 131 as the case may be, to the position inwhich they are shown in FIGURE 1 and preferably at least the opposingslides in each case, such as 102 and 125, are moved simultaneously. Thedie members 194 and 1115 do not have pivotal jaws 127 because they arenot mounted opposite the torsion bars 21, 22, 24, or 25, to effectmovement of the portion of the wire about one of the torsion bars as anaxis.

The manner in which die head 1114 swings through revolution d to formportions 23a and 23b of the wire has already been described and at thesame time die head 195 moves through the revolution e (FIGURE 9) to formthe offset portion 26a in the opposite end of the wire. As soon as theseoperations are completed, die heads 105 and 1% are withdrawn. Theconfiguration of each pair of cams 75 and 76 is such that at the timethe die heads 1115 and 106 clear the wire the shape of cam 75 is such asto permit the springs 99 and 89 to accomplish return of the slide 42 andits associated mech anism to rearward position. Once heads 1115 and 104are withdrawn, head 102 is rotated through a revolution 1 and head 1%through a revolution g. In order that the torsion bars 25 and 21 willlie in a horizontal plane at the completion of the revolutions f and g,the shafts 42 of heads 102 and 1% are offset below the opposite shaftsof the heads 125 and 124, respectively. At the completion of theserevolutions and g, the opposing jaws 127 are tilted in the manner shownin FIGURE 16.

The next step is the withdrawal of die heads 102 and 1M and theirnon-rotary holding die heads 125 and 124, respectively. Thence, die head103 is rotated through the revolution h. In this instance the slot 130of the jaw 127 for die head 103 is initially above the axis of rotationb of its rotatable slide shaft 42, and at the end of revolution h thejaw 127 for head 103 has moved sufiiciently about the offset axis toprovide the compensating bend. Die heads 103 and 126 are then retractedand at the same time the slide 108 mounting magnet 134 is withdrawn.Also fluid pressure cylinder 38 is operated to withdraw support plate 40to retracted position. Fluid pressure cylinder 38 can be a conventional,solenoid operated, double acting cylinder with switches activated by acam on the shaft '73 for moving the ram 39 forwardly and retracting it.FIGURE 17 diagrammatically illustrates the manner in which theseconventional, double acting cylinders can be operated. Switch 163,operating in conjunction with a cam 164, can be employed to move the ram39 forwardly and retain it in position, and switch 165 can be employedthrough cam 166 to retract the plunger 39. When support plate 40 andsupport head 134 are withdrawn, the wire is free to drop to a containeror to a moving conveyor belt below the level of the rails 14 and 15.Once the wires have dropped, the magnets 134 and 41 are moved forwardlyonce again into position to cooperate with the rod support 36 inreceiving the next wire.

It should be clear that the machine disclosed is extremely versatile inoperation and yet is of very simple and reliable design.

It is to be understood that the drawings and descriptive matter are inall cases to be interpreted as merely illustrative of the principles ofthe invention rather than as limiting the same in any way since it iscontemplated that various changes may be made in the various elements toachieve like results without departing from the spirit of the inventionor the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wire bending machine; frame means; means having longitudinallydisposed support surface thereon for supporting a generallylongitudinally disposed wire having a portion with spacer bars joinedangularly to a torsion bar at least a pair of die members having meansdisposed in a longitudinal plane for receiving the wire arranged on saidframe means on opposite sides of said torsion bar in generally opposingrelation; means mounting said die members for tilting movement out ofthe plane of said torsion bar; and means for rotating one of said diemembers relative to the other about a transverse axis generally parallelto the torsion bar and the means for receiving the wire on the generallyopposite die member but offset from the plane of the wire receivingmeans.

2. In a wire bending machine; frame means including longitudinallydisposed support surface thereon for supporting a generallylongitudinally disposed wire having a portion with spacer bars joinedangularly to a torsion bar lying substantially in a common plane;members extending transversely to the support surface and wire generallyopposite the ends of the torsion bar; generally opposed die members,including means for receiving the wire, disposed in a longitudinalplane, tiltable thereon into and out of the plane of the wire about agenerally longitudinal axis; and means for rotating at least one of saiddie members about a transverse axis offset from theplane of the wirereceiving means of said one die member and generally parallel to thetorsion bar and means for receiving the wire on the opposite die member.

3. In a wire bending machine; frame means; means having support surfacesthereon for supporting a wire with a portion of generally sinuous designhaving torsion bars and spacer bars disposed longitudinally in generallythe same plane; slide housings supported on said frame means on oppositesides of said support surfaces and wire opposite at least one end ofsaid wire; slides in said housings movable transversely toward and awayfrom a wire supported by said surfaces; die members on said slideshaving opposed surfaces for accommodating the wire disposed in alongitudinal plane; said means having said support surfaces thereondisposing the torsion bars of the Wire adjacent to said die members; adie member on one side of the wire and a die member on the opposite sidethereof being in substantially opposing position at the ends of one ofsaid torsion bars, each of said die members including means for holdingthe wire and being rockable out of the generally longitudinal plane ofthe wire; means for rotating one of said rockable die members forbending an end portion of said Wire at one of said torsion bars out ofthe plane of an adjoining portion of said wire to form at least one endsupport section on said wire; said one of said rockable die membersbeing rotated about a transverse axis offset with respect to the saidlongitudinal plane of the said surfaces on said die members and thewire; and means for operating said latter means and said slides inpredetermined sequence.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 in which said last mentioned meanscomprises twin cam shafts; cams thereon; means transmitting the throw ofsaid cams to said" slides and latter means; and return spring means forsaid slides and latter means.

5. In a wire bending machine; frame means; means having support surfacesthereon for supporting a generally longitudinally extending wire with aportion of generally sinuous design having torsion bars and spacer barslying generally in a horizontal plane; transversely extending slidehousing means supported on said frame means on opposite sides of saidsupport surfaces and wire opposite at least one end of said wire; slidesin said housings movable transversely toward and away from a wiresupported by said surfaces; certain of said slides being mounted forrotation; die members on said rotatable slides tfixed thereon to rotatetherewith and having slots in a longitudinal plane aligned with saidplane for accommodating the wire; said means having support surfacesthereon disposing the torsion bars of the wire in horizontal alignmentwith the slots in said die members; means for rotating at least certainof said slides for bending end portions of said wire at said torsionbars out of the plane of adjoining portions of said wire to form atleast one end support section on said Wire; cam shafts journaled by saidframe means on opposite sides of the wire support surfaces; a pair ofcams thereon for each rotatable slide; a single cam on a cam shaft forthe other slides; a lever connecting each slide with a cam forreciprocating the slide; means connecting other cams with the rotatableslides, permitting sliding of said slides relative thereto, for rotatingsaid slides; said cams reciprocating and rotating said slides inpredetermined sequence; arid means for operating said latter means andsaid slides in predetermined sequence; said support surfaces comprisingreciprocable magnet members movable in sequence with said slides.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,450,876 10/1948Blumensaadt et al. 1'40 71 2,645,268 7/1953 Blumensaadt -71 2,677,3985/1954 Medendorp 14071 2,744,546 5/ 1956 Williams r 14-0-71 2,777,4761/1957 Fante et al. 140-71 2,884,962 5/1959 Ott et a1 14071 2,916,056 12/1959 OBrien et al. 140-71.6 2,940,480 6/1960 Fante et a1 140-712,979,084 4/ 1961 Roeber 140-71.6 3,004,584 10/1961 Fuchs et al. 153-443,104,685 9/1963 Gonia et al. 140-71 3,141,481 7/1964 Gonia et al.140-71 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

NEDWIN BERGER, RICHARD A. WAHL, WIL- LIA-M F. PURDY, Examiners.

E. W. NYPAVER, L. A. LA'RSON, Assistant Examiners.

1. IN A WIRE BENDING MACHINE; FRAME MEANS; MEANS HAVING LONGITUDINALLYDISPOSED SUPPORT SURFACE THEREON FOR SUPPORTING A GENERALLYLONGITUDINALLY DISPOSED WIRE HAVING A PORTION WITH SPACER BARS JOINEDANGULARLY TO A TORSION BAR; AT LEAST A PAIR OF DIE MEMBERS HAVING MEANSDISPOSED IN A LONGITUDINAL PLANE FOR RECEIVING THE WIRE ARRANGED ON SAIDFRAME MEANS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID TORSION BAR IN GENERALLY OPPOSINGRELATION; MEANS MOUNTING SAID DIE MEMBERS FOR TILTING MOVEMENT OUT OFTHE PLANE OF SAID TORSION BAR; AND MEANS FOR ROTATING ONE OF SAID DIEMEMBERS RELATIVE TO THE OTHER ABOUT A TRANSVERSE AXIS GENERALLY PARALLELTO THE TORSION BAR AND THE MEANS FOR RECEIVING THE WIRE ON THE GENERALLYOPPOSITE DIE MEMBER BUT OFFSET FROM THE PLANE OF THE WIRE RECEIVINGMEANS.